Fire and Kings: The Search
by The Valdez Says Moo
Summary: Takes place after Blood of Olympus: Months after the end of the war, a prophecy is given to the remaining Seven may have the answer to finding Leo again. However, Nico has taken interest in a different line of the same prophecy, looking to fulfill a long wanted wish.
1. Percy Almost Drops Someone

Everyone was still in dismay about Leo. It had been a few months since The Seven had returned to Camp Half Blood after the end of the war with Gaea. Mostly everyone had gotten over Leo-except for Jason and Nico. Most nights around the campfire consisted of Nico's face buried within Will's shirt, his silky dark hair was a curtain over any emotions he showed on his face. Even the warmth and comfort of Will's arms wouldn't comfort him. However, Annabeth suspected it wasn't just Leo he was upset about.

Jason was still in denial, he couldn't-wouldn't believe his best friend was gone. He considered that this was how Reyna felt when he had just disappeared from her life, just like that. The campfire they all sat around with the cloaked stars above them barely grasped 2 feet, in a gray translucent wisp, simmering out into the night air, the incense of loss.

Percy sat cross-legged on the beach with Annabeth's head resting on his shoulder. Her pillowy blonde hair tickled his face, lightly rubbing off the smell of lemons on his neck. As Percy's gaze shifted from the gentle, lapping waves to the braziers on the hill, his thoughts went back to Leo. He watched as the tiny embers floated through the night air, their light dissolving. The smell of a fireplace blew across the beach, wrapping itself through Percy's hair, trapping his thoughts about Leo within his mind. We winced, and turned his head away, returning to his previous thoughts.

Annabeth's eyes darted across the water, looking and observing the shapes the moon's reflection created. Then, her eyes focused on a dark shape, floating, unmoving towards the shore, carried on a wave into the shallows. She stood up, her face contorting to a startled, yet curious face and started slowly pacing towards the floating object. Once Annabeth had left his shoulder, Percy snapped out of his daze and rushed over to her, noticing the object of her curiosity. They cautiously got closer, until Percy realized what it was, and rushed over towards the floating body in the water.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice quivered. "Should I go get- "

"Now." Percy said firmly. And with that, Annabeth ran up the hill to the campfire to get Chiron and Jason.

Percy picked the person up, their long hair suspended in the water like strands of seaweed. Her face was facing Percy, but in the dim light, he couldn't make out her features. He scooped her body up, with one arm around her back and the other one holding her under the knees. Her eyes were closed, and sealed with long, dark lashes. She seemed to be wearing a black surf rashguard and black spandex that dried almost instantly when Percy picked her up. He noticed her small hand swining over her side, and he noticed the edge of her sleeve was, burned? Before Percy could examine her sleeve, Annabeth, Chiron and Jason were striding towards Percy as he reached the crest of the hill. Right as Annabeth came within ten feet of him. The girl's eyes shot open, and Percy almost dropped her.

Looking up at him, were sea green eyes that matched his own.


	2. Rachel has the Answers

AN: Hi Guys! (Sorry, I forgot to put this on the first chapter) Thanks for the support and views so far!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the PJO/HOO characters or themes.

WARNING: BOO SPOILERS

Chiron's light hung from a frayed, rough rope held in his hand over the girl's face, as it swung back in forth. The girl blinked, squinting in the bright light. Her face was sprayed with freckles, like the seafoam on the shore had turned brown and she was standing too close. Her skin was slightly lighter than Percy's, but still looked like Apollo himself had kissed her. Her hair, however, was different from Percy's. It was a light auburn, like somebody had stepped on Katie Gardner's strawberries on the wet sand. Percy put her down and she stabled herself, wobbling back and forth on the loose, sandy dirt. Her red, sandy hair billowed an inch above her belly button, slightly scrunched and wavy from the salty air. She was fairly shorter than everyone, and even though she was farther up the hill than Percy, she was shorter than him.

As they glanced back at the campfire, the flames were swirling over ten feet high in a bright green hue, slightly more joyful than Greek fire. Leo's name floated into their ears on the shimmering gold embers and carried back out in a silvery smoke, as if Artemis's eyes had evaporated into the air.

"What's your name, young lady?" Chiron finally asked.

"Um…I…" She stuttered. Everyone's eyes pierced through her skin like hot orange needles. It almost felt like her blood was pouring down her arm. She had a moment of realization, and reached to the inside of her shirt and pulled a tag out from the left side.

"Sarah Marea Jackson" she said, almost robotically. Percy's eyes went wide, then squinted into confusion. His eyes jumped from Annabeth, to Jason, to Chiron and back to Annabeth. All Jason had to offer him was a smirk, then a clueless shrug. Annabeth gave him a reassuring look, and a confused smile.

"Well, it is a common last name." Jason joked, looking to Percy.

"What do you mean?" Sarah questioned Jason's humor.

"Oh, just ignore him, you'll get used to Jason soon. Anyways, how exactly did you get here?" Piper gently asked her.

"Well… all I remember is I was scuba diving off Hawaii…and then I found this, this thing, I cant exactly remember what-but I touched it and blacked out, and woke up just two minutes ago." Sarah said, confused at her own words, in disbelief of what happened to herself.

"Do you remember who your mom is?" Percy questioned, now speaking in a softer tone.

"No, I went to a boarding school in Long Beach, but my older cousin took care of me over the summer. I don't remember a thing about her, or my dad. I was never told anything about them… not where they were, or why they couldn't take care of me." She said, defensively. They finally let the subject go, and they walked back up to the campfire, and sat down in the front row, without a word. The fire subsided, and seceded back to a saddening gray. As the fire extinguished itself with a sizzle, like frying bacon, Chiron motioned for Annabeth, Nico, Jason and Sarah to come with him. They began to stride up a hill, and finally came to a looming cave, like the maw of a sleeping lion, awaiting new prey. Annabeth led the way, her arm protectively over Sarah's shoulder, with Jason and Nico trailing in behind. In the corner sat a dark shadow like figure with a puff of red frizz spilling over the top. It turned toward them, and started talking to Annabeth.

"What is it?" She asked Annabeth, cocking her head to one side.

"I think it might be the prophecy, Rachel." She responded with confidence. "His, prophecy." Annabeth says, putting emphasis on his.

Rachel rummaged around the room in piles of rolled up paper, with some sort of scrawled writing and feathery paint images along the border.

"So you really think so? Who is it?" Rachel asked Annabeth. She put both hands on Sarah's shoulders and gently moved her forward towards Rachel.

"Really?" Rachel beamed, surprised at Annabeth's actions, and began studying Sarah's face.

"Uh, what was the whole prophecy again, Rachel?" Jason blurted, zoned out for the previous conversation.

Rachel picked up a cleaner, brighter looking piece of paper that wasn't old and withered like old skin, and began to read.

After the arrival from the sea,

Open the cliffs, from the beast you flee,

From the eldest Gods, two sons and a daughter,

To avenge his land, prevent the slaughter,

Savior of flames, princess of the sea,

Sister of the king, return to me.

"I think I know who the princess of the sea is." Nico muttered under his breath, not looking up.

"Yeah, so do I. It's Amphitrite, she's one of the oceanids- a daughter of Oceanus, the first king of the sea." Annabeth suggested.

"Bu- " Nico jerked his head towards Annabeth.

"So do I. We should get together a counselor meeting with Chiron, and let Percy and Hazel know about the quest." Jason said, motioning with his arms.

"Wait, why can't Thalia go?" Annabeth turned to Jason, a quizzical look on her face.

"Uh…" Jason mumbled, rubbing his chin.

"I Iris-Messaged her last week about this quest when we found out, and she said she was busy tracking some twenty foot tall silver deer and wouldn't be back for a month." Nico said dryly, rolling his eyes to Jason.

"Sorry, but it looks like you and Percy are gonna have to take Hazel." Nico said, suddenly interested with the sleeve of his faded aviator jacket. "And besides, quests aren't really my type of thing."

"And neither am I!" they heard Percy shout from the campfire below a few seconds after Nico had spoken.

"PERCY ITS BEEN MONTHS LET IT GO!" Nico screamed back at him.

"So anyway Rachel…" Annabeth discussed possibilities of the quest for hours it seemed, the remaining three people stiffly standing their eyes darting back and forth from one another, like a pendulum on an old clock.

Jason then motioned with his neck to Sarah to leave. They walked down the hill in silence, like the sky above them, nothing but a twinkling constellation of a huntress that seemed to wink down at them.

"Okay, I have no idea what's going on, or why I'm here, but who is that guy Annabeth mentioned to Rachel, who the prophecy was about?"

"Well," Jason winced and looked down. "A few months ago, this war ended. There was a prophecy saying that seven half bloods would contribute to its completion. They were Annabeth, Percy, Me, my girlfriend, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and a son of Hephaestus, named Leo."


	3. Jason Tackles Percy

AN: Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I'll try to post more often when I get the chance!

Jason and Sarah sat across from each other on the cold marble table as Jason described the entire war with the giants, from the moment he woke up on the bus. Sarah's face was captivated with interest, and seemed stunned at times. Jason made a point to stray away from the fact that Percy and Annabeth had spent some time in Tartarus, as to suppress Sarah's already present worry.

"So in the end, Leo prevented Gaea's awakening, but now he's gone missing. Immediately, everyone assumed he was dead, but a select few of us still believed we could find him. We searched for a long time, and we began to believe everyone else, but right as we gave up Rachel spit out that prophecy, and we started to frantically search for answers. Like always, Annabeth figured it out." Jason explained.

"So basically, you're looking for the Princess of the Sea, whoever that happens to be." Sarah asked.

"Yeah. That's the idea." Jason said, staring at the ground.

"Who's the sister of the king? And is that someone the 'Princess of the Sea' will bring forth also?" Sarah asked again

"Well, we all think the king it's talking about is Zeus, because he's the lord of the sky and king of the gods. So the sister is either Hestia, Demeter or Hera." Jason explained.

"Personally, I think it's Hera. Hestia literally never leaves the hearth, and Demeter is too wrapped up right now moping about Persephone. And anyways, Hera is always up to something." Sarah stated.

Jason rubbed his tricep nervously, as he watched the weeds at the foot of the table shrivel and die as the dead plants spread for a ten-foot radius.

"Uh, I would be careful saying things like that about the gods. They tend to have really keen hear-" Jason paused, noticing Percy and Annabeth walking swiftly towards the big house, following Piper and Hazel.

"Time to go." Jason muttered quickly. He grabbed Sarah's forearm and ran towards Percy. He dragged her along until she was right behind Annabeth. Jason flung her into the back of Annabeth and Sarah fell on top of her into the dirt. As they both scrambled up giggling, they stared in awe at the sight of Jason jumping onto Percy's back, piggyback style, as Percy collapsed and tripped face first into the ground. They wrestled for a minute as Annabeth and Sarah collapsed in laughter. Jason was now straddling Percy as he was pinned underneath him, with a string of saliva hanging out of his mouth over Percy's face. However, Jason had forgotten at that moment Percy's power over water, and his own spit bounced back up into his face like a bungee cord. Percy flipped Jason over so he was underneath him, and then finally let go after he stopped wiping his own saliva off his face with a disgusted yet amused expression. The four of them continued towards the big house, laughing the whole way. As they stepped into the rec room, everyone else was already there, and the meeting had started. Although, no one seemed to be paying attention as Chiron was giving a boring run-down of the quest, which they had all heard several times. No one paid attention. Many people had gained a sudden interest in their fingernails and feet; they were all staring at them. However, everyone's attention was caught when Chiron cleared his throat and said,

"Now, about who is going on the quest…" everyone perked up and jerked their heads toward Chiron.

"I'll go." Percy immediately volunteered, raising his hand.

"Me too." Jason said, his voice echoing through the silent room.

There was a long pause. Everyone looked around the room, but no one spoke up.

"Nico?" someone in the room suggested.

"No, Nico does not do quests. I will go." Hazel stood, trying to stand tall as she looked lovingly over at her brother.

"Excellent. Now Miss Chase has come to the conclusion that the start of this quest should begin in Yellowstone National Park, one of the forges of Hephaestus. He may be taking out some of his anger over the loss of his son by kidnapping his mother, Hera, the sister of Zeus, king of the gods. Naturally, I agreed with her completely."

"So that's what the whole Supervolcano ordeal is about…." Will mumbled to Nico.

"Hey. Who's that squirt with Annabeth?" Someone yelled from the back.

"Great question. We have no idea." Nico snapped as he made a sarcastic expression.

"Well, I think she may have been the sign to begin this quest." Annabeth began to explain. "Even if we don't know who she is, or where she came from, which she doesn't even know herself, she still played an important role in this quest."

"Really, she has no idea where she came from?" the same voice yelled.

A worried look cam across Sarah's face as she glanced at every pair of eyes staring into her, it was if they all had turned into Medusa, and she might as well be a frozen stone statue. She looked up at Annabeth, and she gave her a reassuring look, even though she was just as concerned.

"I…" Sarah stuttered. "uhmmm…" Her voice quivered as she glanced more quickly around the room. "I-….." Her words were cut off as she saw someone staring above her head. No one took notice until someone gasped and staggered back. She looked at Annabeth for reassurance, but she was staring wide eyed, and mouth open above her head in awe.

"P-Percy…" Annabeth mumbled.

Percy was smiling and giggling at Jason, who had just now taken notice of what was above her head. He immediately stopped as the smile was wiped from his face. His jaw dropped as he looked at her right in the eyes. She finally looked above her head, only to see a dissolving image of a green trident fade into the air.

Percy's dumbstruck expression immediately jolted to a grin that went from ear to ear as he ran towards Sarah and picked her up and wrapped his arms tightly around her, their joy and excitement and happiness flowing throughout the room like a crashing tidal wave. Annabeth ran over and clung to one side of Percy, and Jason soon joined the other, then Piper, and they all became one ball of happiness and family as they collapsed on the floor of the rec room, smiling with pure joy.

"Now." Chiron cleared his throat. "You should be leaving for that quest as soon as possible. Ten minutes would be optimal."

Percy's smile melted into a dumbstruck look once again, as he was still embracing his sister, realizing he would have to immediately leave her. They all got up and strolled outside. Nico and Will followed Percy, his sister and Annabeth outside and trailed closely behind.

Percy stopped in front of the volleyball courts where Hazel and Jason were waiting for him. Along with Frank and Piper. Percy looked to his sister with a distressed look, and then reached into his pocket, rummaging around as his tongue began to stick out of his mouth. He pulled out a black cord necklace with a charm of four silver dolphins swimming in a circle. He handed it to his sister as Annabeth helped her put it on. It melted from silver to bronze as Percy pulled a matching one from under his shirt.

"They turn bronze when the other person is wearing them. They will also project an iris message if you drop a drachma through the middle." Percy said disdainfully. H hugged his sister tightly one last time as she moved to go stand with Frank and Piper.

"Annabeth…" Percy mumbled. "Promise me that you'll take care of her." Percy said worriedly, staring into Annabeth's stormy eyes.

"Percy, I swear on the River Styx I wont let anything happen to her. I'll take care of your sister." She said lovingly, gazing back into Percy's eyes, they stormy sky and sea joined in a symbiotic dance.

And as Nico overheard, he buried his head back into Will's shirt, as the previous conversation reminded him of a very similar one he had a few years ago about his sister. A tear rolled from his eye and was immediately absorbed into Will's camp T-shirt.


End file.
